Going with the flow

Sunday morning at 9:00 we were supposed to show up at a certain place for a bap. service and dinner together with our brothers & sisters here. Of course, we showed up right on time and there wasn't a soul there. We received a call from a friend, asking us if we could pick her up at a nearby Metro stop which we did. We got back to find a few people arriving. The place is a huge house with a beautiful yard where they set up a blow-up pool which would be the bap. pool. With a hose and a trickle of water, they began to fill this enormous pool with ice cold water! There was a flurry of activity trying to find someone with the key for the house (where the service was to be held) but they never were able to track it down. Plans quickly changed. About 50 people crowded under a fig tree, sitting on bricks, logs, the ground and began to worship the Lord. Only minutes into the service, they called me over and asked if I would be willing to drive our van to pick up some people who were getting bap. I went with another girl and we got stuck in an awful traffic jam and 1 1/2 hours later returned with the 5 people we'd gone to pick up! A Lib. family was among the group and the mom was getting bap so it was well worth it to me to be able to bring her. The service was still going when we got back! (I think they were stalling so the pool would have time to fill!) There must have been some sore behinds sitting on those rocks! It was thrilling to listen to the testimonies of the 8 candidates. Some have suffered greatly to follow our Lord. The clapping and cheering and tears as each one went under the water was so moving. Almost 4 hours after arriving, we were ready to have our meal together. Many had planned on the ovens in the house to heat their food but of course that didn't happen since they never found the key! It all turned out just fine and we had a wonderful time of fellowship with everyone. We were asked to take a bunch of people home in our van afterward (10 to be exact). We drove way out into the country to take two families home. It was pretty amazing to realize what they have to go through to get to ch'ch every week; some take 2 or 3 buses and then walk a long distance. Kind of embarrassing to think what keeps us from going to ch'ch sometimes. A full 6 hours after leaving the house, we arrived home exhausted but happy to have witnessed such a wonderful occasion. Several times during the day we found ourselves saying "if I were doing this, I would have..." But we weren't in charge and just had to go with the flow, as unorganized and crazy as it seemed at times. We were blessed beyond words.